Ways for Wellbeing UK Community Interest Company is an organisation based in Birmingham, working across the West Midlands established by women of colour, with a collective experience of over 30 years in mental health and the health and social care sector. They are experts by experience and have combined their experience with formal training to become Personalised Care Institute (PCI) qualified Health and Wellbeing Coaches. The CIC provides access to activities that promote wellbeing and overall positive mental health.
Nabila Gardner, Director at Ways for Wellbeing UK CIC, shares their experience of the Inclusive Leadership programme run in partnership with Barclays.
What motivated you to apply for Inclusive Leadership run in partnership with Barclays?
We were motivated to apply as we saw a growing need for our provision as health and wellbeing coaches out in the community and we wanted to develop a sustainable model of delivery that would enable us to provide services longer-term and meet a growing need.
How did the project go?
The project went well. It was facilitated really well, and all the Pilotlighters were dedicated and committed to helping Ways for Wellbeing to review services strategically and the organisation’s marketing needs.
The process was straightforward and lots of conversations took place with the team to help us refine and reshape what we wanted the final support to focus on. The Barclays Pilotlighters were all from different parts of the business and this really helped as there was a real mix of experience. The additional resources of people and knowledge helped us to focus on our goals for the next 12 months.
We are a small Community interest company with limited availability of time and staff to provide additional experience, suggestions, and ideas on our marketing and strategy development. The programme with Pilotlight and the Barclays Pilotlighters gave additional resources to our team. Focusing on our shared goals has been invaluable.
What have been the outcomes from the project?
There have been several positive outcomes from our conversations with the Pilotlighters. Some of them involve examining how a non-executive board member could bring fresh insights, enhance strategic oversight, and contribute to a more diverse and accountable governance structure.
As an outcome of the project, we have also started to consider the recruitment of additional coaches to offer tailored support and ensure the programme meets the evolving needs of participants. Furthermore, we are now keener on implementing more robust administrative and HR systems to streamline operation, as well as allocating additional resources to marketing to improve awareness and engagement, securing the charity’s visibility and support base.
Another very productive output from our conversations during Inclusive Leadership involve trying to identify strategies to enhance funding stability through targeted partnerships with charities that share similar values, allowing for resource sharing and collaborative opportunities, as well as assessing potential corporate partnerships that align with our mission. Lastly, we have emerged with a useful plan that anticipates the impacts of proposed actions, the resources and even a suggested timeline to ensure that new initiatives drive sustainable growth and lasting success.
What have been the results/implementation after the project?
We have continued to develop partnerships with academics and other health care professionals based in the West Midlands, we have contributed to research projects, and we have looked at our marketing plan to see how this can be improved.
Through some of the strategic partnerships with educational institutions, we have led on the coordination and delivery of the very first Birmingham city wide Disability Festival that took place in July 2024, successfully involving over 500 attendees, 30 partner organisations on site sharing information about their service.
We have also delivered healthy eating behaviour change workshops and wellbeing coaching to young people and their families in 24 primary schools over the summer on behalf of partners as well as delivering healthy food habits workshops as part of the Holiday Activity Fund across Libraries during the Summer 24 School holidays.
Top Tips for other organisations thinking of applying to the programme
- Apply – if you don’t have the resources, this programme is invaluable
- Teamwork – Having the additional resources from business experts without having to find the money to pay for it is a huge bonus and helps small businesses and charities / non-profits
- Put the effort in – bring your whole self to the sessions and do the homework in between – it makes the focus of the sessions much better